Test Setup

Test Setup

Now that we're on the same page on the whole XMP system, let's get to benchmarking this baby. Besides XMP, there are a some notable differences between the older Extreme Performance DDR3-1866 and Viper Fin DDR3-1866 memory. Firstly, it would seem like the Viper Fin has looser timings, rated at 8-8-8-24 against 8-8-8-20 of the Extreme Performance modules. However, the Viper Fins does seem superior. It worked right off the bat at DDR3-1866 using its XMP profile on our standard ASUS P5E3 Deluxe motherboard. This was achieved with its rated 1.9V voltage as well. If you remember, we were unable to run the older Extreme Edition at 1866MHz speeds. In the end, the highest stable operating frequency we managed to achieve was 1840MHz, and only with 2.0V voltage.

For benchmarking purposes, we will re-use the same set of numbers from our Patriot Extreme Performance DDR3-1866 review. We actually expect the performance to be similar, since the differences between the two are only technical. Kingston HyperX DDR3-1333 memory results are included as a base comparison.